Mixed martial arts

Phạm Văn Nam (left) will defend his 56kg belt against Lê Văn Tuần in the LC23 on June 14 in Hà Nội. Photos courtesy of VMMAF

HÀ NỘI — Phạm Văn Nam will face Lê Văn Tuần in the title match of the LION Championship (LC) 23, the nation's largest mixed martial arts tournament, on June 14 in Hà Nội.

The LC23 event will be held at the Tây Hồ Gymnasium instead of the Rạch Miễu Gymnasium in HCM City, which is currently being repaired and upgraded.

This will be Phạm Văn Nam's second time defending his title in the men's 56kg category, after beating Đinh Văn Hương at the LC8 in 2023.

If the former deliveryman can do it again on Saturday, he will keep his championship belt forever, and a new one will be made for future competitors in the category.

Nam is a familiar name in the national martial arts community. He earned remarkable results in national championships for a wide range of genres, including jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai.

The defending champion went on to win all four of his matches at the LION Championship, and impressed supporters with a win at the ONE Championship in 2024 and another at the Master of Fights Championship in 2023.

On the other side, Tuần is in the 56kg category's top three after his submission win in the LC21 in April with a D'Arce choke, the first time the jiu-jitsu move was applied during a fight in Việt Nam. The victory allowed him to challenge Nam for the belt.

Tuần, who also used to work as a deliveryman, drew people's attention when he nearly defeated seven-time world Muay Thai champion Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất in the LION championship in 2022. In March, he knocked out Chinese fighter Xiao Fu in the AFC MMA.

Đào Thì Như Quỳnh will take on Karina Veis in the only women's match at the LC23.

In the second main event, Trần Trọng Kim will take on Bùi Đình Khải, also in the men's 56kg class.

Khải lost to Kim in the LC19 last November. He later defeated British fighter Liam Arnold in the LC21 and immediately challenged his senior Kim for the second time.

Other matches will feature Quàng Văn Minh of Việt Nam vs. Mikhail Gritsaneko of Russia in the 65kg; Vietnamese Đinh Văn Hương going up against Filipino Jhaymie Gayman in the 57kg; and Nguyễn Phú Thịnh and Huỳnh Ngọc Tín, both Vietnamese, facing off in the 56kg.

In the only women's match, Russian fighter Karina Veis will take on Vietnamese Đào Thị Như Quỳnh. _ VNS